Appearance vs. Substance in China
Have you ever wondered if all the new stuff they’re doing in China is really everything it’s chalked up to be? It’s a perfectly legitimate question to ask, especially so because in China appearance is far more important than substance. This isn’t meant to be a value judgment, to say that this is good, or bad, or whatever. That’s just how it is here, and this is one of the major ways in which working in China is different than the west.
Every society in some way has the concept of ‘face’, but the Chinese take to a whole new level. There’s a whole art, almost a science to it. There’s a defined procedure as to how to exchange business cards (with two hands, among many other things) how to receive a gift (try to decline it at first, but once you accept it, don’t open it in front of the person who gave it to you), the list goes on. Doing things correctly allows you to ‘gain face’ and consequently you will see your social standing rise. Not following procedure will cause you to ‘lose face’ and your social standing falls.
On the small scale, one of the things I’ve noticed is that many Chinese colleagues I’ve had, when faced with a task they don’t quite understand or can’t fully complete for some reason or another, wouldn’t say anything about it unless directly confronted by somebody else. To directly admit you don’t know something or can’t do something would cause you to lose face. So instead of asking questions or clarifying what needs to be done, they would just do it wrong, but be happy about the fact that they merely finished the task.
On a large scale, we’ve seen this with the venues for the Beijing Olympics, the high-speed train network, newly built freeways, and even an entire city.
In the interest of appearing more international, legitimate, respected, impressive, etc., some Chinese companies will even go to the extent of hiring a white person simply to sit around and, well, be a white person. This could be for as short as a few hours to appear at a conference or meeting as a purported representative of the company to as long as a few weeks. Notwithstanding the fact that the white-guy-for-hire probably hasn’t the foggiest idea as to where he is or even what the company does, he makes the others swoon. Woah! Look at that! They have a foreigner working for them!
I once worked for a small company that had its offices in a building that also housed several prominent Chinese groups. We sometimes used this fact as a talking point in initial introductions, and spoke about it as if being in the same building as these other groups established a phantom connection somehow improved our firm’s standing. At first I raised an eyebrow to this, but later learned not to care and even to start using the line myself.
So when you see stories in the news about how the new biggest this or the fastest that is being made in China, just remember that appearance is more important than substance.
I see your message but I think you're stretching it a little bit to be sensational. No respectable corporation would hire a white person just to be a white person... Yes, I know the practice of force-hiring a foreigner to "look good" when you don't really need one is there. But can you really say that prestigious college/firms in the US posting pictures on websites and company pamphlets that make them look like they are the UN is any better? Hell, American firms have long institutionalized fake diversity with all those unnecessary diversity leadership programs. And the bit about exchanging gifts, giving business cards with two hands are just difference in cultural customs. The whole judging people by "firm hand-shakes" and the pet peeves about who can wear suspenders and tie bars is just as silly in the same line. Both traditions are just as irrelevant to work performance and substance. But it's just there because they have been ingrained into Eastern/Western business customs.
And no respectable business/business/government person would necessitate/accept a bribe.
I know what you mean. Shanghai skyline looks amazing from far away, but if you're actually in Pudong itself, you see that all the buildings and skyscrapers are of shitty quality and not impressive at all.
very poignant observations - thanks for sharing them. Strict socialization and adherence to norms definitely is a prevalent feature of Chinese culture, as opposed to western culture which is more individualized. There was even some article in the WSJ a while back about how Chinese mothers at as authoritarian dictators to their children, forcing them to practice the cello for hours on end, and so on. I would be interesting in hearing what the Chinese find remarkable about our culture - Do you have any idea?
The biggest thing I have found Chinese people to be fascinated/interested/curious about is our spirit of individualism. China is, and has been for thousands of years, a collective society. And it is from here where many of the rifts and differences of opinion between our cultures originate. Since its a complex topic that deserves a discussion of its own, I'll compose my thoughts a bit more and put them up for my post next week.
Finacne in China is "interesting"... I hear funny and ridiculous stories all day long...
Btw, check out Shanghai's first WSO happy hour:
Come on dude, something u mentioned here is called 'pr', a worldwide practice. Glad there's a happy hour in sh, I might be able to make it.
See you there
I'm pretty sure Face refers much more to saving face personally and one of the oddest constructs (apparently) is dishonesty. If I fucked up, I hold my hands up and admit - Western managers look upon me (assuming this isn't the 12th one of the week) and say, at least he's honest, we like that in our employees.
In China, it is a taboo to admit to mistakes and apparently one of the hardest things for a westerner to adjust to is this indirect way of doing business. They say guilt is given through body language but from the mouth comes constant lies
Lol economics.
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